Xiomara Christian, 37, of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, was sentenced on December 20 to 33 months in federal prison for laundering drug proceeds from Europe and Australia through U.S. bank accounts. This sentence was announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York.
From May 2017 to November 2018, Christian worked with a co-conspirator to disguise illicit drug money as legitimate business transactions. Together, they used bank accounts in the U.S. to launder the proceeds from drug sales, making the illicit money appear as if it were legally obtained.
On October 4, 2018, while in the Netherlands, Christian delivered €101,950 ($114,816) in drug proceeds to an undercover agent from the National Police of the Netherlands. The following day, another undercover agent, this time from the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, received $85,000 AUD ($57,843 USD) in drug sales from another co-conspirator in Melbourne, Australia. Christian then arranged for the funds to be wired through a New York bank account to Panama.
In addition to the prison sentence, Senior U.S. District Judge Lawrence E. Kahn imposed a money judgment of $172,659 against Christian. She also faces deportation from the U.S. following her prison term.
Christian, whose full name was not disclosed in court filings, had pleaded guilty to the charges on October 10, 2024.